A proposal to hire a nuclear energy consultant and lobbyist to work in Washington, D.C., has the Board of County Commissioners split on the issue and desiring public input.

A draft Request for Information Proposal compiled by Commissioner Jack Volpato was presented to the BOCC for discussion Tuesday morning. The RFP is a revised edition of an RFP presented to the board in July. The revised RFP focuses exclusively on nuclear endeavors with the goal and objective of keeping Eddy County apprised of pending legislation or regulation by the federal government and to educate Congress and its staff about the county’s interests in nuclear energy.

The RFP requests the hired firm perform the following services:

Help the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) keep current funding and staffing levels.

Promote the interim storage site proposed through the Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance.

Help procure funding for high-temperature salt studies at the proposed C-URL site on the land withdrawn for WIPP.

Promote a high-level waste salt repository on the withdrawn land.

Work with the Senate and Congress to get the land withdraw act modified for high-level waste and greater than class-C waste.